Some artist gave our ancestors the notion that Atlas held...

Some artist gave our ancestors the notion that Atlas held aloft the Earth, and the globe mapmakers perpetuated it. In Greek mythology, however, Atlas held up the sky, not the Earth.

Just sitting there, you're moving in at least four directions at once: Around the Earth's axis, around the sun, around the Milky Way and off with the galaxy into space. Why aren't you dizzy?

Q. What's the mathematical ''Law of Disorder''?

A. Say a blindfolded man walks away from a flagpole, changing direction occasionally in an utterly irregular manner. The ''Law of Disorder'' predicts he'll repeatedly return to the flagpole, if he keeps on walking. I'd explain this ''Random Walk'' principle of physics to you in detail the way Albert Einstein explained it, but I'm too busy.

Still no answer to that query: What actor died the most times in film portrayals? A client suggests Jack Palance in the 1955 movie I Died a Thousand Deaths. Sorry. Unacceptable. In lieu of the ''most,'' however, how about this candidate for the actor who died the ''best'' in such scenes, Royal Dano? I always remember him as the gaunt Civil War soldier with the haunted eyes who toppled under fire, slowly, slowly.

Experts now say you perform a lot better on the job -- tell your boss -- if you take not just one but two or even three rest breaks each morning and each afternoon.

Only about 20 percent of the people can stand up to talk to a large group without feeling the pangs of that thing called ''stage fright.''

The No. 1 Yankee Mr. Steinbrenner was named George Michael -- same as Cohan -- because he was born on the Fourth of July.

How long can you hold your breath? The sperm whale can hold its for more than an hour.

One out of 100 athletic scholarships went to women a decade ago. Now 30 out of 100 do so.